Day 5 - Vienna & Wachau Valley - 27 Sep 2016

Today was our last day in Austria. We got up at 7am, prepared ourselves and got ready for breakfast at the hotel at about 8am. Breakfast was amazing; it even had champagne which was very rare. Its omelette (with ham and cheese) was awesome too.

As an alternative to Budapest, we joined "The Grape Escape Tour", organised by Pedal Power. As we were still early before the appointed time at 945am, we walked from our hotel to Hofburg Palace which was about 20 minutes away. Hofburg was a huge complex of museums. One could almost take the entire day if one were to cover every single one of them. For us, we just took in its magnificent architecture.

Next, we took the underground train from Volkstheater to Spittelau to meet our guide, Hannes. We took another train from Spittelau to Krems which took us another hour before we collected our bicycles. And off we rode at a leisurely pace to Wachau Valley.

The ride was really enjoyable. Fresh air, spectacular view of the region and the beautiful vineyards surrounded us and though physically tiring, it was all worth it! And it was the first time we saw grapes and apples hanging on the trees. We even "stole" a few of the grapes and ate them; it was sweet and juicy.

Our first stop was at the UNESCO world heritage site of Durnstein, a quaint and beautiful town in Wachau. At one of its wineries, we had our first wine tasting. I am never good at differentiating the qualities among the various wines that I've tasted and so for me, it was more like "wine drinking" and not wine tasting.

Lunch was at Durnsteinerhof which was just across the winery that we visited. I had Austrian Goulash (beef stew) with bread dumplings while Emma had Wiener Schnitzel (breaded and pan fried cutlet made from pork) served with French fries. After lunch, Hannes gave us half an hour to explore the beautiful town. We got some gifts for our friends and spent the remaining time we had to take pictures along Danube River.

Next, we rode to another winery at Weissenkirchen. It was purely just wine tasting and it provided a good break for us to rest our legs. Chatted with another couple on the same tour as us and the guide and it was a completely nice experience to chillax, even with people whom we've just met for the first time, and taking in the picturesque scenery of Wachau that surrounded us.

We then took a ferry across Danube River. The ferry was not the kind that we'd expect it to be. It was the entire dock that was loaded onto two ferries that took us (and our bicycles) across. On our way back to Krems, we occasionally stopped at some scenic locations to take pictures.

We took the train to Vienna where our tour officially ended at about 7pm. And while on the train, Emma had researched for our dinner venue to be at an Italian restaurant, Da Capo. The fish fillet and the grilled prawn was awesome and to top it off with Affogato (with iced coffee and a tinge of liqueur) was the best choice to end my dinner, and literally my last one in Vienna.

After dinner, we walked to Hofburg and this time, to look at the architecture by night. On our way, we went up to St. Stephen's Cathedral to admire the night view of Vienna. It was, however, not pretty as it was mostly dark. We came down in a matter of minutes. And there was a service that went on inside the Cathedral at 9pm. Curious, we walked in and was immediately enchanted by the beautiful singing that echoed within the Cathedral. We didn't spend too long at the Cathedral and walked to Hofburg after we left. We took a few more pictures at Hofburg before taking the underground train to Karlsplatz which is where our hotel was located.

The holiday that we didn't want to end has to finally come to an end. Throughout the five days, it has been most wonderful to spend time with my wife as we explored the various cities and sites together. We told our sons that we needed to go away to "strengthen our marriage". I believe that our marriage has indeed been strengthened after this trip. Just to be away, with the woman whom you love and whom you know loves you, is like the greatest blessing in life.